"WHAAAAATTTT~~~~?! What are you doing THERE?!"
Tatsuhiko Shinohara was on the verge of apoplexy. His face was purple, a deep purple, and he was gripping the wooden table in the living room very tightly.
Suzu Shinohara sighed as she set the steaming rice of bowl on the kitchen table a few feet away from the living room. "I told you, she's out with Takao on their great adventure. I told you that before you left Sapporo, right, darling?"
"But an adventure CONTINENTS away wasn't part of IT!" SD Mr. Shinohara gripped the cordless telephone in his hand very tightly. "TSUKIYO! I DEMAND you go straight back here to JAPAN on the next available FLIGHT!"
Mrs. Shinohara was ladling warm soup into bowls when Mr. Shinohara exploded again. "What are you SAYING you CAN'T?!? Tsukiyo Shinohara, you are a lady and ladies are supposed to follow their fathers' ORDERS! I don't care if you don't get that ADVENTURE crap! You're supposed to be staying here studying ikebana, calligraphy, the tea ceremony…NOT go around acting like a GUY!"
Mrs. Shinohara set the grilled fish on the ceramic tray platter when she heard the distinct pop of her husband's arteries.
"WHAAAAT~~~?! Tsukiyo, we didn't raise you to become a guy wearing women's CLOTHES…wait a minute…a lady wearing MEN'S clothes and pursuing all sorts of manly sports like wrestling 3rd grade boys and kicking bullies by their shins if they didn't give you their LUNCH MONEY! …what…of COURSE I know that it happened AGES ago! But the boy's parents has been harassing us ever SINCE asking for medical support because you FULLY broke his ENTIRE leg…TSUKIYO! Don't hang up the phone…TSU-KI-YOOOO~~~~!!!"
Mrs. Shinohara popped her head in the doorway. "All clear, darling?"
"That…that…ABOMINATION!" SD Mr. Shinohara was seething. "What happened?! Why didn't she play with Barbie dolls when she had a chance and instead asked for BB pellet GUNS?!"
"She's just a woman of her own, Tatsuhiko dear, don't force her into a proper lady's mold any way you see fit." Mrs. Shinohara went back into the kitchen. "Now come here or the dinner will get cold."
"I can't take this any MORE!" SD Mr. Shinohara went after his wife. "Aren't you at LEAST worried she'd grow up to become a MAN, honey?!"
"Patience, Tatsuhiko dear, PATIENCE. It's because she hasn't met a man who could properly complement her strong personality." Mrs. Shinohara smiled. "But don't worry, I've a feeling ALL will change once she gets back from her adventures with Takao. Alright, dear?"
"Why do you sound SO certain?"
"My mother had almost given up on me and then I met YOU." Mrs. Shinohara sat in front of her husband. "Pass the rice, please."
Tsukiyo was in a very foul mood when she went back to the hotel lunch time. Takao was trailing right behind her.
"I can't believe Dad still believes we're in the age of proper ladies and imperial etiquette…what hole did he crawl out of from?! Ooooohhhh I DON'T fancy dresses and I DON'T fancy laces and ribbons and fluffy rabbit slippers and sugar and spice and everything nice…why can't HE just let ME be ME?!"
"Well, you ARE the only heiress of the Shinohara clan," Takao told her. "It's but natural that he tends to go overboard."
"And your grandfather lets you do all you WANT because you're a BOY!" SD Tsukiyo was an angry Jigglypuff. "What's the difference?! We're BOTH only heirs!"
"Hey, Grandfather still doesn't approve my Bey Blading. It improved just a tiny jot from his totally medieval attitude 4 years ago." Takao gave his friend a pat on the shoulders. "Don't worry, he'll see the light."
Max and Lei came by a little while later, holding huge bags of what Tsukiyo could practically see as loads and loads of souvenirs and what-nots. "I'm planning to send Mom a postcard, she must be heartily worried by now," Max explained. "Then I'm planning to give this to Tracy, to Mark, to Sheldon…"
"Your ice hockey pals?" Takao inquired.
"Yeah!" SD Max was nodding happily. "Then these wonderful French chocolates for DAD!"
Lei put the huge bag of his own stash of chocolates on the table and Tsukiyo gazed at it curiously. "You're a chocolate nut?"
"Sort of," Lei answered her. "Umm, where's Asaya?"
"Still holed up in her room, fixing a little bit of Driger here and there," Professor said, coming out of the dining room with a cup of tea in his hand. "Oh, by the way Takao, Max…she wants to check up on your Beys too. I mean, after the first battle the day after tomorrow."
"???" SD Tsukiyo was blinking. "Well, in that case…what's up for tomorrow?"
"It's the Opening Ball," Max said with a nasty grin. "And I have something PERFECT for YOU!"
"Opening…Ball…?!" SD Tsukiyo's eyes widened. "M-Max…what are you DOING?! Wait, what's THAT~~~?! MAX! Get AWAY from ME~~~~!!!"
Max gave an evil cackle of laughter as he pounced on Tsukiyo.
"MAAAAXXXX~~~~!!!!"